Hat holder



April 11, 1950 PFEIL 2,503,840

HAT HOLDER Filed Nov. 19, 1948 INVENTOR ERNEST W.PFEIL Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAT HOLDER Ernest W. Pfeil, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application November 19, 1948, Serial No. 61,031 4 Claims. (01. 211-32) This invention appertains to a-hatholder formed froma single blank of sheet material and is an improvement over my prior inventions illustrated in mypending applications Serial Nos. 702,935 and 773,697, filed respectively on October 12, 1-946, and September 12, 1947..

One of the primary o'biects of my present. invention is to provde novel meansfor firmly interlocking the supporting yoke with the face panel, when the yoke is swung forwardly to a hat supporting position, so that the yoke will be held at the desired angle againstaccidental displacement.

Another salient object of my present invention is toprovide novel interlocking means struck out from the face panel and the yoke for effectively supporting and holding the yoke' at thelower portion thereof, so asto prevent sagging of the yoke under the weight of a hat.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novelconstruction, arrangement andformationofparts, as willbe hereinafter more specifically described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view showing the hat holder struckifromla single-sheet of blank material and prior to the opening up thereof.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, and showing the holder in its set up position with a hat therein.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the hat holder taken on the'line 3-3 ofv Figure 2 looking in the direction of the-arrows.

Figure 4 is. a vertical sectional view through the hat holder taken on the line 4-4 of; Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the novel connection between the face panel and the yoke.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view partly in section, showing the lower end of the hat holder prior to the bending out of one of the supporting tabs for the bottom of the yoke.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 and illustrating the inter-engagement of the tab with the bottom of the yoke after the bending out of the tab, Figure 7 being a section taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter H generally indicates my improved hat holder, which is preferably formed from a single blank of sheet material, such as cardboard.

As illustrated, the hat holder H includes a face plate or panel Ill and struck out from this panel is a front supporting frame or yoke H for supporting a mans hat, see Figures 2 and 4. The yoke is of a U shape in front elevaton and is cut from; the panel Ill and is free from the panel at all points with the exception of the lower horizontal edge thereof, so that a connecting hinge l2 will be provided. At the point ofconnection of the yoke H with the panel] 0, thepanel and yoke are scored along parallel horizontal lines I3, so that the material will be weakened. This, of course, facilitates the folding of the lower end of the yoke on the panelto provide the'hinge and to space the lower end of the yoke a sufficient distance from the panel so that a brim of a hat can be accommodated.

, When the hat holder H is in use, the panel can be secured in place on a desired support, such as by the use of a thumb tack or the like and the yoke H is swung outwardly from the panel at a desired ang.e thereto to receive the hat. This yoke I I, is firmly held at the desired angle against accidentaldisplacement by the use of my novelty formedsupporting arms I4. These arms 14 are cut and struck out from the panel 16 adjacent to its opposite sides and from the opposite sides of the yoke. As is clearly shown in Figures l and 2, the arms 14 are connected at their upper ends, to the panel and their points of connection with the panel are preferably weakened by score lmes l- 5,.so that the arms can be readily bent out from the panel. The outer ends of the arms [4 are provided with inwardly directed fingers l6 and these fingers are cut out from the sides of the panel H1. 'lhe upper edges of the fingers 16 have formed thereon inserting tongues ll, the purpose" of which will later appear. It is to be noted that the inner edges 01. the arms I4 at their points of connection with the fingers 16 are notched out as at It and the purpose of this will also be set forth. Adjacent to the upper end of the yoke II, the yoke is provided with H-shaped cuts or slots l9 and the extreme side edges of the yoke adjacent to its upper end have formed therein recesses or notches 20.

Upon the bending out of the arms l4 and the OlTt'Jald swinging of the yoke II, the fingers 16 will engage and support the yoke. In order to prevent the disengagement of the arms from the yoke, the tongues 17 are inserted in the H-shaped slots I 9. As the tongues are inserted in the slots, the notches l8 and 20 will mate and interlock. This is best shown in Figure 3.

By this arrangement, the yoke is firmly united with the panel, at the upper end of the yoke and the disengagement of the upper end of the yoke with the panel is reduced to a minimum.

In order to form an adequate support for the bottom of the yoke and to hold the hinge portion 12 in a horizontal plane, so that the bottom of the yoke will be spaced from the panel, I provide novel supporting tabs 2|. These tabs 2! are struck out from the panel 10 and the hinge l2 and are arranged in spaced relation relative to one another. These tabs are joined with the panel along their vertical edges and the panel is scored as at 22, to facilitate the outward folding of these tabs. When the tabs are bent out, and the panel is bent down to form the hinge l2, the upper ends of the tabs are inserted into the hinge portion l2 through the openings formed in the hinge portion by the cutting of the tabs therefrom. The outer edges of the tabs are also cut and notched to provide slots 23 and as the tabs are bent outwardly portions of the hinge 12 will ride into the slots 23 and this is facilitated by the notching of the tabs. This provides a firm interlocking connection between the hinge portion 12 of the yoke H and the panel.

The inner edges of the yoke H can be provided with bent lips 24 for engaging the crown of the hat, as best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided a novel means for effectively supporting the yoke l l in a desired relation to the panel I Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

l. A hat holder formed from a single blank of sheet material comprising a front supporting panel, a U-shaped yoke hingedly connected at its lower end to the panel and movable in a collapsed position within the plane of the opposite face of said panel and to an operative position at an angle to said panel, arms hingedly connected to the upper sides of the panel having inwardly directed fingers for engaging the outer face of the yoke to limit the outward swinging movement of the yoke, said yoke having slots therein, and tongues on the inner edges of said fingers insertable in said slots.

2. A hat holder formed from a single blank of sheet material comprising a front supporting panel, a U-shaped yoke hingedly connected at its lower end to the panel and movable in a collapsed position within the plane of the opposite face of said panel and to an operative position at an angle to said panel, arms hingedly connected to the opposite sides of the panel having inwardly directed fingers for engaging the outer face of the yoke to limit the outward swinging movement of the yoke, said yoke having slots therein, and tongues on the inner edges of said fingers insertable in said slots, the outer edges of the yoke being notched and said arms and fingers being notched at their points of connection, the walls of said notches interlocking when the tongues are inserted in said slots.

3. A hat holder formed from a single blank of sheet material comprising a front supporting panel, a U-shaped yoke hingedly connected at its lower end to the panel and movable in a collapsed position within the plane of the opposite faces of said panel and to an operative position at an angle to said panel, and arms hingedly connected at their upper ends to said panel having inwardly directed fingers for engaging the outer face of the yoke to limit the outward movement of said yoke, the outer edges of the yoke adjacent to their upper ends being provided with notches and said arms and fingers at their points of connection having notches, the walls of the notches interlocking upon the outward swinging movement of the arms and the yoke.

4. A portable hat holder struck from a single blank of sheet material comprising a front panel, a yoke hingedly connected at its lower end to the panel, said hinge including an offset horizontal connecting portion between the yoke and panel, means for limiting the outward swinging movement of the upper end of the yoke, tabs bent out from said panel and offset connecting portion having their upper ends insertable in the offset portion, when said offset portion is in a horizontal plane, and the outer edges of said tabs having notches and communicating slits for receiving edges of the offset portion to hold said offset portion in a set up horizontal position.

ERNEST W. PFEIL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 20,448 Van Aken July 20, 1937 2,130,334 Barber Sept. 20, 1938 2,324,232 Pantalone July 13, 1943 2,384,680 Huye Sept. 11, 1945 

